Welcome to Professional and Technical Services (PTS) – experts in chemical disinfection for infection prevention. Our goal is to educate and provide you the latest resources related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces, medical devices and hands. As specialists in disinfectant chemistries, microbiology, environmental cleaning and disinfection, facility assessments and policy and procedure creation we are dedicated to helping any person or facility who uses chemical disinfectants.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Yesterday, my company celebrated our 20th
anniversary. I’ve been with Virox® for
15 of their 20 years and a have enjoyed watching how the markets we serve have
grown in their needs and sophistication with respect to cleaning and
disinfection. As part of the
celebration, we were given today off!

While I'm playing hooky from writing an educational blog, I wanted to take the opportunity to wish all of my
Canadian friends a happy Canada Day and all of my American friends a happy
Independence Day!

Bugging Off!

Nicole

PS - For those that know me, I have a penchant for playing
with my hair color.It’s fun, but in
the summer it means I have to be really careful around pools.This summer, I have found the perfect
solution, my new retro-70’s swimming cap!You can be sure it will be put to good use this weekend!

Friday, June 22, 2018

Are you a dog lover? Do you cuddle, sleep, kiss or let your pooch lick you? I like dogs, but growing up on farm my
definition of having a dog is opening the door to let him or her run out to do
their business, roam around the farm for a bit and then open the door to let
them back in when they barked. Living in
a city with a busy schedule and a fair bit of travel means I’ve chosen cats
over dogs. I can love them. I can feed them and I can leave them. Growing up on farm with dogs and a mom who
was a nurse also meant that our dogs (and my brother and I) were taught not to
lick. Dog kisses were not something that
occurred in our house. Truth be told,
Kahlua, the black lab we had for 16 years like to find carcasses of dead animals
to roll in and chomp on and of course liked to play in the barn with the
cows. You never knew what had been in
her mouth before coming to say “Hi” and if you got close enough to her mouth
you often found yourself gagging from what she had just gotten into…

But why the dog talk?Because I came across a study published in the journal of mBio that found
that some dogs in China are carrying a potpourri of influenza viruses
including swine, avian and canine
flu viruses.Since we like to have
“close” relationships with our canine babies, there is a potential that someday
these viruses may jump to humans.

The researchers swabbed 800 ill dogs between 2013 and 2015
and found that 15% of the dogs had the flu.Shockingly, after the viruses were sequenced they found that 16
different strains of the flu were being carried by these dogs and some of them
were in fact Swine
influenza strains that had been detected in people in Europe and Asia.While there is no indication (at least at this
point) that the flu can jump from your pooch to you, it doesn’t mean it’s out
of the question.In fact, our close
contact may have allowed for us to build immunity against dog flu, but that
is yet to be seen.

What does this mean to us?Well, as I’ve mentioned in several past Talk Clean To Me blogs, don’t
get your knickers in a knot over the particular strain of influenza.I’m not insinuating we need to down play
influenza and the risk of transmission by any means.What I am saying is let’s be smart about
influenza.This study shows dogs can
carry pig flu, swine flu or bird
flu.There are additional studies to
show that some of the earlier canine flu outbreaks may have originated from Equine
or horse flu.Influenza has been
identified in all sorts of animals and of course people.

Friday, June 15, 2018

I’m pretty sure at some point we’ve all cringed, wrinkled
our noses or had the involuntary “EWE!” slip out at some point in our lives
when we’ve seen something gross.Of
course depending on what it is depends on your next reaction which may range
from complete revulsion to fascination.When it comes to blood, guts and gore (or pus) I tend to weigh in on
the fascination side.I’ve always been
the person to look closer at what is grossing others out, even if we’re dealing
with a dead animal on the side of the road.Bugs, insects and most rodents are another story.

A recently published study in
Philosophical Transactions (The Royal Society) by Val Curtis and Mícheál
de Barra sought to determine if in fact disgust evolved to protect us from
disease and if we can still rely on our instinctual reaction of disgust
to help us from getting sick.Curtis and
de Bara recruited 2,500 participants of which two-thirds were women with an
average age of 28. The study participants read brief descriptions of 75
potentially revolting scenarios they might encounter in a day rating them from
“No Disgust” to “Extreme Disgust”. Curtis and de Barra were then able to develop and sort the responses
into six common categories of disgust "cues" such as poor hygiene;
animals/insects that bring disease; promiscuous sex; body deformities or
behavioral irregularity (e.g. coughing or homelessness); lesions, blisters,
boils or pus; and spoiled food.

While the results of the study
may not have correlated to disease per say, they did seem to reflect the types
of things and people that should be avoiding in order to not catch something
infectious.The participants knew to
avoid objects, skin lesions, spoilt food, individuals with poor hygiene and
promiscuous sexual practices.While a
feeling of disgust does not allow us to “see” pathogens, the study does provide
further evidence that when we feel disgust it in does indeed correlate with
staying away from something potentially infectious.

Which leads me to my fascination
with lesions, blisters, boils, pus, blood, guts and gore…..Inwardly I may say “ewe”, but man do I like a
good close up and investigation of what everyone else may think as being
gross!

Friday, June 8, 2018

The joy of my job is that with the exception of booked
travel, I never know what market I may be supporting in terms of cleaning and
disinfection.This week I attended the Premier Orlando
International Beauty event.It was 2
days of jaw dropping beauty, personal style and in some cases questionable
infection control.If you were looking
for a new hair style or colour, nail art, skin care tips there was no way you
could not come home with ideas!The key
is whether you’re brave enough to follow through on some of the ideas you came
home with!

In the Professional Beauty market what amazes me the most is
the difference between states in terms of the level of cleaning and
disinfection required for tools and implements.In the healthcare world (hospitals, dental, etc.), the guidelines are
standard across the nation and everyone is generally doing the same thing.The same cannot be said in spas, salons or
nail shops.If you’re an infection
control nut like me you may want to take some time to investigate what the State
Cosmetology Boards require for cleaning and disinfection requirements are
before your next mani-pedi.As I’ve come
to learn, for most states the use of an EPA registered disinfectant is
sufficient for tools.My question is what type of
EPA registered disinfectant?A low level
disinfectant that can kill bacteria, may or may not be able to kill hardier
non-enveloped viruses and may or may not kill relevant bacterial pathogens? Should an intermediate level disinfectant be used that can kill TB?Are the facilities allowed to use the solution
as a soak for 1 day, multiple days or do they have to change after each
disinfection cycle?How do they test to
ensure that the product is at the appropriate concentration?

My personal preference is the use of a High Level
Disinfectant.These are FDA registered
disinfectants that undergo stringent testing and validation to be able to
disinfect medical devices via soaking applications.The testing requires a soil challenge, proven ability to kill a higher number of organisms and the products are
generally designed and tested in such a way to allow for a re-use claim (meaning
once put into a soaking try you can use for multiple days in a row) and must
have a method to test and verify that they remain within the appropriate
concentrations to ensure disinfection has occurred.

But that’s not really the reason for this week’s blog.My reason was what I saw in terms of lack of
infection prevention measures.This show
provided a means to see all of the new products for sale and often provided the
ability to watch demonstrations or try the products.I saw emery boards that are supposed to be
single use being used on multiple people.I saw dremel type sanding bits being used on multiple people with
perhaps a wipe of a tissue sprayed with alcohol.I saw microblading and permanent make-up
tattooing being demonstrated – sure they had gowns on, but I’m not certain how
the multiple use devices were being disinfected.I saw people trialing teeth whitening
systems.It was all fascinating, but by
golly I kept my hands to myself and tried NOTHING!

Similar to my Pools Poised for Plagues blog that highlighted
the number of outbreaks associated with public swimming pools and the highest
rates being in the summer, I suppose it’s time to remind ourselves that summer too
is a time when many of us want our feet, toes and nails to look pretty.After this week it’s a reminder to myself to
ask how mani-pedi tools and implements are disinfected if trying a new place.ruth be told, I think if I can’t get into my
preferred facility and aesthetician then I may just settle for doing it myself
and hope that I can paint within the lines!

Friday, June 1, 2018

It’s been a long week, but long in a good way!The IPAC Canada
National Conference was this week in Banff, Alberta.The theme of the conference was “Climbing Mountains: Pathways to Discovery”.I must say the speakers did an amazing job
pulling in our theme and weaving stories that were inspirational, educational
and left everyone with pearls of wisdom to both take back to work and leverage
in our personal lives.

I hosted a full day pre-conference symposium on Cleaning and
Disinfection.I must say, I think this
was my favorite of the 5 such symposiums I have hosted.The day was interspersed with both lectures
and interactive activities that made people think beyond the obvious.We were stretched to think of
the unobvious issues that can result in our facilities whenever cleaning and
disinfecting products are used.The
topics for the day weaved and intertwined with speakers building on and
validating each other’s presentations.The day taught us to how to read and truly gather information from a
product label, learn how to investigate and determine compatibility of a
disinfectant with surfaces and devices found in our facilities and how to
uncover where errors or issues in cleaning and disinfection have occurred.We also covered Room Decontamination Devices
and their use in infection control programs, where and what types of biofilms
may be lurking and closed off with a discussion on chemical resistance and what
concerns there may be with our ever increasing use and reliance on cleaning and
disinfecting chemicals.

Sharron Wood,
the first North American female to summit Everest by the west ridge and north face
gave the opening key note talk.While
one would not think of mountain climbing and infection prevention as having
anything in common, I can say we are wrong.One cannot just decide to climb Mount Everest and head out the next
day.Planning is actually the largest
part of ensuring success.Execution, the
actual climbing can be successful if the planning has been done
correctly.During the climb you need
mental strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other and to make the
right decisions.To have a successful
infection prevention program, we too require a focus on planning and when we’re
in the throes of an outbreak where things are ever changing so to do we need
the mental fortitude to keep putting one foot in front of the other and the
ability to make the right decisions.

The conference closed with Patch Adams – yes, the REAL Patch Adams!I’m sure many of us have seen the movie starring Robin
Williams.What an experience to be
in a room with him.Patch Adams held us
in complete rapture expounding his beliefs that laughter, joy and creativity
are an integral part of the healing process.He showed that laughter really can be the best medicine with examples
and videos of the work he does around the world clowning.Some of my “ah-ha” moments were the fact that
WEcan choose to have a happy day and that our choosing to be happy has
an incredible effect on those around us.As leaders, colleagues, friends and family, WEcan make an
environment where a person can see the best in themselves and that can be very
powerful in helping to deal with whatever struggles they may be having or
empowering them to think differently when faced with a challenge.Lastly, Patch Adams pointed out that in every
job, there is something that is boring.Rather than lament in the dullness of the
task, ask yourself what you can do
to make it fun?

Those that know me know, that I like to have fun.In my current role there are times I feel
that perhaps I’m too gregarious.Certainly, there are times where laughter, joking and clowning around are
not appropriate, but I’m going to take to heart that I can choose to be happy
and always look for the positive.I can
choose to make others laugh and help them to be happy and in doing so I may be
able to make the world a better place.